'Missing' guns: fresh doubts over Victoria Police firearms registry

By Farrah Tomazin & Richard Baker

Fresh doubts have emerged over the accuracy of Victoria Police’s gun registry after an internal report found dozens of firearms were “lost”.

The Age can reveal that an audit of nearly 1000 firearms - conducted by the police’s Licensing and Regulation Division - discovered 81 guns could not be accounted for.

The findings of the audit came to light after firearms dealer Ross Barlow lodged a complaint with Professional Standards Command alleging dozens of his guns had gone missing after they were seized by police in 2014 when his licence was revoked.

The accuracy of Victoria's firearms registry is under a cloud.

An internal review of his 911 guns on the registry - conducted last year by Superintendent Paul Millett and obtained under freedom of information laws - found 81 firearms “could not be identified,” the report revealed.

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Mr Barlow claims the guns went missing after the police seized them, but Victoria Police say they weren't found on the firearms registry because Mr Barlow provided wrong or insufficient details to locate them on the database.

Problems with the database suggest police may be unable to track the location of seized guns, increasing the risk they could end up on the black market, and could have difficulty tracking registered guns owned privately.

It is not the first time questions have been raised about the way guns are regulated in Victoria, adding to tensions over law-and-order ahead of this year's state election.

Doubts over the gun registry emerged in February when The Age revealed that Melbourne security business owner Michael Sloan was in possession of 16 high-powered rifles and a double-barrelled shotgun that the database recorded as "seized" and in police possession.

Mr Sloan said his guns had been returned by police after being unfairly seized but the database had not been updated, even though he had requested it.

Michael Sloan, a licensed security business owner who has also had problems with Victoria Police's gun database.Credit:Joe Armao

Other security industry sources have also told The Age of separate cases in which the division had recorded wrong or out-of-date information about their guns, leading in some instances to businesses being closed down.

“The matters involved in my case are just one example of registry incompetence," Mr Barlow said.

Police, however, said it was up to registered gun dealers to maintain accurate records, and that Mr Barlow - who lost his licence following the 2014 audit after police charged him with a range of firearm offences - had failed to do so.

In recent months, licensed gun dealers have called for the gun registry to be overhauled, with some suggesting sworn officers overseeing the database should be replaced by specially trained public servants.

Asked if the community could have faith in the system, a Victoria Police spokeswoman cited figures showing that in the 2016-2017 financial year, 3169 firearm licences were suspended or cancelled and 1163 applications for licences or permits were refused.

“Victoria Police has a strong compliance and enforcement focus when it comes to legal firearms and works to ensure only those people who are suitable obtain and retain firearm authorities,” she said.

Last week, police also confirmed that a superintendent “from a corporate area has been suspended with pay” after a raid on his house - believed to have been initiated by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission - allegedly uncovered illegal firearms.

Richard Baker is one of Australia's most experienced and decorated investigative journalists, with 12 years in The Age newspaper's investigative unit. He has many times been the recipient of Australia's major journalism awards, including multiple Walkleys, the Melbourne Press Club's gold quill and more than a dozen other quills, a Kennedy award and the George Munster prize for independent journalism. Together with colleague Nick McKenzie, Richard has broken major international and national corruption scandals. He also writes regularly on politics, business, crime, sports affairs, defence and intelligence and social affairs. In 2016, he created and co-hosted the awarding winning six part podcast series, Phoebe's Fall.